The oldest mention of Robin Hood at present known occurs in the second edition - what is called the B text - of Piers the Plowman, the date of which is about 1377.
These " pilgrim signs " are frequently alluded to in literature - notably in the Canterbury Tales and in Piers Plowman.
But there are references which suggest its previous award in Piers Plowman and Chaucer.
A broadside entitled Davy Dycars Dreame, a short and seemingly alliterative poem in the manner of Piers Plowman, brought him into trouble with the privy council, but he was dismissed with a reprimand.
An interesting passage in Piers Plowman furnishes us with a proof of the extent to which these songs penetrated into England.